[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO DAVID MITCHELL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 2006

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor David Mitchell of Pt. 
Reyes Station, California, who recently retired after 30 years as the 
editor and publisher of the Point Reyes Light. The Light has covered 
community activities, misdeeds, and controversies in the rural small 
towns of West Marin since 1975.
  Dave earned a degree in journalism at Stanford University and worked 
at various small papers before buying the Light with his former wife 
Cathy. After the couple split up in 1981, Dave sold the paper and 
worked for the San Francisco Examiner for several years before getting 
the paper back due to payment default.
  Described as everything from ``intelligent, scrappy, and folksy'' to 
``controversial, opinionated, and hard-headed,'' Dave always presented 
the news in a lively, personal manner and encouraged his readers to 
participate through letters and columns. He considered himself a 
muckraker and determinedly pursued deceit and corruption where he saw 
it. In 1979 he and Cathy won a Pulitzer Prize for their expose of the 
Synanon cult.
  West Marin has changed during Dave's tenure, and the Light chronicled 
issues such as politics, immigration (even sending reporters to the 
Azores, Italy, and Jalisco, Mexico, where many were from), relations 
between Point Reyes National Seashore and the community, and the 
struggles of ranchers to remain viable as the towns became more 
gentrified. The paper was always challenged financially as Dave used an 
inheritance to subsidize it, and he sometimes suffered from severe 
burn-out as he worked long hours to keep both the finances and the news 
activities in line. After achieving financial stability, he sold the 
paper in November, 2005, to Robert Plotkin who made a commitment to 
maintain its community focus.
  Mr. Speaker, David Mitchell has provided a vital service to West 
Marin as well as setting high standards for community newspapers. I 
know he will continue as a fixture on the local scene and maintain his 
passion for the issues he championed.

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